Rise in racist hate crime in the UK after Brexit

Rise in racist hate crime in the UK after Brexit

As Britain continues to plan for life outside of the European Union, the scale of the effect Brexit has had on race relations has been revealed.

According to a Home Office report, race or religious hate crimes jumped by more than two fifths in the wake of the referendum.

New figures reveal a sharp increase in the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by forces following the poll on June 23. There were 3,886 such crimes logged in July 2015, rising to 5,468 in July this year.

Data from 31 police forces showed that in the two weeks up to and including the day of the referendum, forces recorded 1,546 racially or religiously aggravated offences. In the fortnight immediately after the poll, the number climbed by almost half to 2,241.

The peak daily total between May and August was seen on July 1, when 207 alleged race or religious hate crimes were recorded.

The police said people had taken the vote to leave the EU as a licence to behave in a racist or discriminatory way. Offences had been mainly harassment and threats of a racist nature against “visible minorities” as well as people from Eastern Europe.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead on hate crime Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: “Numbers of hate crime incidents have fallen from the spike seen after the EU referendum but we still believe that many hate crimes are still not reported to us.”

How can our criminal law solicitors help?

Emotions have been running high since the referendum result was announced. If you need advice on behaviour that you have experienced or if the police have investigated your alleged behaviour and you require advice, get in touch with our Suffolk Criminal Law team.

If you need advice in confidence on behaviour that you have experienced, contact us on 01473 298141. We also have offices in Ipswich, Hadleigh, Melton, Felixstowe and Woodbridge where you can arrange to meet with one of our expert lawyers.

16/05/2019

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